


Confined Spaces

by ObsidianRomance



Series: A Matter of Coincidence 'Verse [1]
Category: Supernatural RPF
Genre: M/M, Mpreg
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-02-24
Updated: 2013-02-24
Packaged: 2017-12-03 11:31:50
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,895
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/697800
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ObsidianRomance/pseuds/ObsidianRomance
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This is based on the prompt by cherry916:<br/>Jared is pregnant with twins and still somehow managing to fill his job as a secretary for his boss Jensen Ackles. Jensen secretly crushes on Jared daily and wishes he could be the babies father.<br/>Both Jensen and Jared get off work late and Jensen escorts Jared to the elevator. The elevator breaks down in spectacular fashion, and as luck would have it that's when Jared goes into labor! Jensen helps deliver the babies and keeps him calm as a squad tries to rescue them.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Confined Spaces

**Author's Note:**

> Pairing: None yet, but Jensen is pining over Jared in this fic  
> Warnings: mpreg, cursing, graphic birth, blink and you miss it male lactation  
> Word Count: 8,740  
> Rating: R  
> Disclaimer: I own nothing but the mistakes. I am just borrowing characters and faces for fun.

When Jensen hired Jared as his secretary over a year ago it was his impressive resume that got him the job.  What keeps him his job is his unwavering work ethic and friendly demeanor.  It doesn’t hurt that people seem to love Jared.  Fate brought them to work together and as it turns out, they make a great team. 

Working his way up for a few years as a financial manager has landed Jensen some pretty high profile clients which lead to two things: more money and intensely long work days.  His other secretary quit; she was a nice enough woman and there were no hard feelings when she left, but she just couldn’t handle the job.  Because of the nature of his job Jensen has honed his ability to schmooze and his friendly demeanor makes people want to trust him – which they honestly can do, but most people are wary with how far they trust people these days.  Jensen learned straight away that Jared can schmooze with the best of them.  Two days into the job and Jared has even the most uptight client eating out of the palm of his hand and happily agreeing to reschedule his appointment, one that Jensen’s previous secretary overbooked.  Jared is clearly heaven sent.

In addition to clearly being a people person, Jared has an uncanny ability to manage dates and times.  He is so good at it in fact that Jensen swears he must use an extra part of his brain because clearly numbers just work differently for him.  The younger man has been working for him for a few months and he has already found a way to make the most out of every hour of the day and his scheduling is impeccable.

It is a good thing that Jared is so focused because Jensen has a tendency to daydream, which is what he is doing when Jared walks in his office and drops a stack of things he needs signed on his desk.  He walks out smiling but without saying a word, making Jensen realize that he uses calculated moments like this to bring Jensen back to the present.  Jared may have known Jensen was taking a brief reprieve from the real world, but he is certain he had no idea what, or who, Jensen was thinking of.

His skills and abilities get Jared his job, but what keeps Jensen enamored with the man is the fact that he is a complete mystery.  There is a very real wall built up around Jared that divides his personal life from the work place.  Sure they banter, joke, even make meaningless chit chat, but Jensen has no idea who Jared really is.  He knows where he went to school, where he has worked in the past, and even where he lives, but that is it.  He’s learned from observing Jared that he likes coffee with no sugar, he eats strawberries everyday when they are in season, and he likes dogs.  That is hardly anything to go on.

This only serves to make Jensen more intrigued.  That Jared is gorgeous, he can’t deny.  His smile practically lights up the room.  But aside from the obvious physical attractions, Jensen cannot help but be drawn to the man.  He knows they work together and he has to be careful of exactly how far he pushes this, but after just a few months of knowing Jared Jensen desperately wanted to know everything about him.  He tried getting him to go out to dinner, cleverly disguised as a work “thing”, but Jared declined.  He tried getting him to go out to a sporting event a client had given him free tickets to but Jared said he didn’t want to impose and again respectfully declined. 

The more Jared evaded him the more it fueled Jensen’s desire for him.  He would have left it alone but there are times when he catches Jared looking at him, knowing by the way the man flushes and turns away in a blur that Jared had let the wall between his work and personal life fall down for a moment.  He doesn’t mind those looks because he knows Jared has been on the receiving end of similar looks when Jensen is daydreaming.

Yet after 8 months of working together, aside from learning that Jared volunteers at an animal shelter when he came in with a gigantic cat scratch across his neck, Jensen still knows very little about him. This is precisely why it stuns Jensen when Jared nervously tells him that he is pregnant and due in 5 months.  And oh yeah, it’s twins.  Things start to click into place and if Jensen wasn’t so focused on Jared’s dimples he might have realized something was going on with his secretary.  He had noticed Jared’s normally trim form slightly rounding out lately, but he wasn’t stupid enough to bring that up.  He didn’t have a death wish.

If Jared thought he would lose his job over that revelation, he needn’t worry.  He was invaluable, plus Jensen would never let a pregnancy be the reason to replace someone.  After that, things went back to normal…almost.  Jensen catches himself thinking that if Jared is pregnant then he must be dating someone.  He doesn’t wear a wedding ring and Jensen feels like scum when he thinks that he still has a chance to steal Jared away from the boyfriend he conjured up in his mind (who is clearly a douche and will one day treat Jared like shit so he might as well save them all the trouble and just leave quietly).  At least now it makes a little more sense why Jared declines his offers to go out.  Jensen decides to respect Jared’s privacy and backs off.  At least until something strange happens.

Jensen does not have a pregnancy fetish –at all.  He doesn’t.  At least he didn’t.  It starts to freak him out how attracted he is to Jared as his belly rounds out.  He told himself he was going to back off but when Jared comes into his office with a turtleneck sweater stretched tightly across his middle he breaks that promise.  Jared looks good.  He is glowing.  He is even more gorgeous that before.

It doesn’t take long for Jensen’s daydreams to go down a very different route.  His subconscious starts making him wish that he was the reason Jared’s belly was growing, that he was the one who put those babies inside of him.  It is usually an innocent daydream but sometimes, when he is home, his mind starts thinking of exactly what position he would’ve pinned Jared in when he got him pregnant.  And then suddenly that is all he can think about.  It becomes sexual and Jensen starts thinking maybe he should seek help because evidently he has developed both an impregnation and pregnancy fetish.  But then he realizes that he doesn’t feel this way about anyone else, which is a relief because it means he just has a Jared fetish.  It doesn’t help much though because he can’t do anything more than daydream about him.

Jared’s pregnancy progresses and, in a strange deviation from the norm, he even shows Jensen a sonogram picture of his identical twin girls.  Jensen says they look cute but what he is really thinking is he wishes they were his.  Man, he is getting creepy.  He wants it all to stop but he just can’t figure out a way how.  Short of firing Jared, which he isn’t going to do because even near his due date Jared is still the best damn worker he has ever known, Jensen can’t figure out how to get the man out of his head.

It is almost a relief when the day before Jared’s leave arrives.  He is going to miss seeing the man almost every morning but maybe the distance can help him figure out how to move on.  Although right now he can’t think of anything but how much Jared is saving his life because even though his twins are due in one week Jared has agreed to stay late and help finish a lot of paperwork that he needs by tomorrow.  He hears Jared give out a grunt, which shatters the carefully structured silence and he pokes his head out of his office door to see what is going on.  Jared is perched on the edge of his desk, one hand on the wood behind him to support his weight and the other rubbing his middle.  Aside from his sizeable belly, Jared’s body looks almost the same as it did when they first met.  His chest may have filled out a little, and maybe his hips too, but he still looks striking.  “You okay?”

Jared flushes and looks apologetically towards his boss.  He still keeps rubbing his stomach but Jensen is sure he doesn’t even realize he is doing it.  “Yeah, I’m okay.  They’re just running out of room.”

Jensen sighs with guilt for even asking Jared to stay late.  True, he didn’t press the issue and Jared practically volunteered himself, but he still feels guilty for letting it happen.  “You can go home if you would like.  I can finish up.”

Jared looks like he wants to say no, his lips move to say the word, but then he stops himself and winces again.  Jensen has seen this routine several times over the course of the day.  When Jared lets out a gasp, like all the air is knocked out of his lungs, Jensen has it practically timed to the second.  Jared’s voice is quiet when he says, “Yeah.  Okay.  If you’re sure you have it covered.”

“Absolutely.  But at least let me walk you to your car.  It is late and I would feel a lot better about keeping you here so long if I know you’re safely on your way home.”  Jensen comes fully out of his office and leans against the wall beside Jared’s desk.

“Oh no, Mr. Ackles, you don’t have to do that.”  He waved his hand at Jensen in an attempt to brush off the offer.

“Jensen.  You can call me Jensen.”  He had told Jared this many times, but the younger man never took him up on it, only making it more apparent that he has every intention of keeping their work relationship the only one they’ll ever have.  “And I am not taking no for an answer.”

Jared let out of a huff and his shoulders fell in defeat.  “Well, if you insist.”  Pushing himself off the desk he tidied up the pile on his desk.  “I finished making all your appointments for the next few weeks and I even got all the files ready to go for you.  It should be pretty simple for the temp you are hiring to figure out, but you can still call me if you have any questions.  I tried to make it idiot proof.”

Jensen actually laughs.  “Of course you did.  You’re too good Jared.  I am going to die without you.”

“Yeah, probably.”  Jared flicked the light on his desk off.  “I feel bad leaving you here by yourself.”

“And I feel bad keeping you here all night.”  He pushed open the door to the building’s hallway and gestured for Jared to follow him.  “Now come on before you have those babies in my office.”

Jared cringed at the thought, not needing any more motivation to follow his boss into the hallway and silently towards the elevator.  Jensen pushed the down button while Jared fidgeted nervously, his face screwing up with discomfort momentarily but Jensen caught the telltale signs of it.

Moving aside, Jensen let Jared enter the elevator first before he hit the down button and sent them in a slow descent of the building.  He watched Jared out of the corner of his eye and noticed the other man was biting his lip and staring intently at the seam of the elevator doors.  Even under the harsh yellowing light of the elevator Jared still looked gorgeous, albeit tired but still gorgeous.  He tried to focus on something other than that fact.  “So, do you have names picked out?”  It felt like a cliché question, but he didn’t know what else to say that had nothing to do with work.

Turning to face Jensen, Jared smiled.  “I have a list.  I wanted to wait…”  Jared’s words are cut off when the elevator shutters, drops down suddenly and then shutters again, this time stopping abruptly.  The movement causes Jared to be tipped off balance, something that isn’t too difficult to do.  As a result he catches himself on Jensen, arms clinging tighter than necessary but fear of falling down makes his hands act like mini-vice grips.

Jensen’s arms came around Jared in a natural motion, steadying the pregnant man and holding him against his body well after the elevator has stopped moving.  It is the first time he has ever had any real contact with Jared and his heart flip-flops before his brain kicks in and his brow furrows in confusion.  Having Jared against him was enough to delay questioning why the elevator stopped but when the lights flicker off and emergency ones blink on Jensen jumps into damage control.  “Are you okay?”  He pushes Jared away from his body but keeps him steady with a hand on each of his shoulders.  The younger man’s eyes look panicked, like he is worried about more than just almost falling.

“I think so.”  Jared's voice hitches and he tries to take a calming breath.  “I’m sorry I…I didn’t mean to…I just didn’t want to fall.”  He twists out of Jensen’s hold and avoids eye contact.  “What happened?”  Jared puts his hands on the wall beside him, moving them in a searching motion, as if it was that simple to figure out what is going on.

“I’m not sure.   I think the elevator is stuck.”  It was a stupid comment.  Obviously the elevator is stuck.  He tries pushing the buttons but the power is out in the shaft, save for the emergency lights.  There is a call for help button and he pushes it but nothing happens.

“Weren’t…”  Jared’s voice sounds different and Jensen has never heard him so uncertain.  “Weren’t the people from Thyssenkrupp here fixing it the other week?”

The sentence reminds Jensen of another reason he hired Jared.  Not only can he pronounce Thyssenkrupp but he can remember when they were last here.  “Yeah.  Well they weren’t fixing it, they were just doing a regulation inspection.  They said it was fine.”  Jensen moves his hand over the seam of the elevator doors, trying to pull them apart but having no luck.  If it was any other time he knew that people would have noticed something was wrong.  But being the last ones in the building on a Friday night and at this late hour, there is no one to take notice.  He patted his pant pocket and then his suit jacket’s before letting out a curse.  “Shit.  I left my cell phone on my desk.  Do you have yours?”  He turned to face Jared and found him wild eyed in the corner of the small box.  The pregnant man looked like his heart was racing and his chest was rising and falling far too rapidly.  “Jared? Are you okay?”

Wiping the top of his forehead with the back of his hand, Jared gave a fast nod, too fast to be believable.  “Mmm hmm.”

Jensen abandoned trying to figure out their current predicament and joined Jared in the corner.  “What’s going on?”

Jared let his eyes dart over to Jensen and he held onto the wall for support.  “I don’t…I don’t like confined spaces for too long.  A normal elevator ride is fine but now we are stuck and there is no one in the building and…and…”  Jared stumbled a little and grabbed onto Jensen to keep him upright.  “…and I can’t breathe.”  He choked on a breath and his lungs stopped working properly.

“Shit Jared.”  Jensen hooked an arm around the man’s back and gently lowered to the ground with him.  “You’re having a panic attack.”  He helped Jared get situated on the floor and hovered in front of him.  “Jared, look at me.”  His voice was soft and reassuring and he let Jared take his time in meeting his eyes.  “We are going to be fine.  You just need to calm down and take deep breaths.  In through your nose and out through your mouth.”  He started exaggerating his breathing so that Jared would copy him, which he did.  “That’s it.  Nice and slow.”  Nodding at the man he rubbed a soothing palm over Jared’s shoulder, trying to keep him focused on letting go of the panic rather than the source of it.  When Jared’s breathing hitched again he shushed him softly and kept breathing with him.  Eventually the panic in his eyes was still present but it was fading and his chest was rising and falling at a reasonable rate.

“Thanks.”  Jared blushed and closed his eyes, covering his face with one hand.  “I just…I don’t like small spaces.”  He tilted his head back so that it thumped against the elevator’s wall and he rubbed circles over his stomach with his other hand.

“Well you're doing good.  Just keep breathing.  We’ll be out of here in no time.”  Jensen pulled back and sat on his heels.  As much as he hated being stuck in the elevator he was glad he had insisted on walking Jared to his car, he couldn’t imagine what would have happened to the man if he had been in here alone.  “Do you have your cell phone on you?”

Without opening his eyes Jared fished his phone from his pocket and held it out towards Jensen’s voice.  He let out a gasp and moved both his hands to his middle, trying to arch away from the pain.  “I don’t think these two like confined spaces either.”  He opened his eyes and met Jensen’s; his attempt at a joke was a weak one but at least he was able to think of something other than dropping to his death in a malfunctioning elevator.

“Well, let’s get us out of here so that they can get themselves out of there.”  Rising to his feet he gestured towards Jared’s middle and smiled.  Turning away from the man he made quick work of calling for help, getting a dispatcher on the line and calmly alerting her to the situation.  He was about to hang up when something he’d never heard before reached his ears.

“Jensen!”

With the phone still to his ear he pivoted and sought out the source of his name being called.  He had never heard his first name on Jared’s tongue and it shot bolts of electricity straight to his heart.  Only, this wasn’t how he had hoped it would be yelled.  He had imagined Jared screaming it in passion, happiness, and maybe even anger, but he had never dreamt of it being bathed with the sound of pain and fear.  Jared was looking at him with those deer in headlight eyes again and his body was tense with pain.  He wasn’t sure what was going on and it must have shown all over his face because he didn’t even have a moment to ask.

Letting out a groan, Jared curled around his middle and winced.  “My water just broke.”  The panic was back in his words and so was the rapid rising and falling of his chest.

Swallowing hard, Jensen blinked in an attempt to clear his mind.  He almost dropped the phone when he dropped his jaw.  “Are you sure?”  The only response Jared gave him was a growl and a glare full of daggers.  “Right…of course you’re sure.  Shit.”  Spinning away so that his own panic wouldn’t fuel Jared’s more he quickly spoke into the phone.  “One more thing…the pregnant man I told you about?  Yeah..he’s in labor.  With twins.”  His voice must have betrayed him because the woman on the other line started trying to calm him down.  He wanted to tell her to shut up and just get someone over here as fast as possible.  But then her voice went dead and he pulled the phone away from his ear, quickly discovering that the phone was black.  He tried turning it on again but it was a no go, the phone was dead.  “Shit shit shit shit.”  He turned back towards Jared, who had obviously noticed his freak out with the phone.

“What?!”  Jared’s fingers were digging into the fabric of his shirt and even though he was clearly panicking, he seemed to still be getting enough oxygen into his lungs.

“You’re phone’s dead."  He gave the laboring man a collected look and put both hands up in a calming gesture.  "But don’t worry, they're sending help.  They said they should be here within a half hour.”  It took a herculean effort but Jensen’s words were calm as he made his way towards Jared and fell to his knees.  “You’re going to be fine.”

Jared groaned as a contraction rolled through him.  When he came down from it he glared at Jensen.  “I am not going to be fine!”  He huffed out a puff of air.  “My phone is dead and we are stuck in here and…oh god I am going to have these babies in an elevator.”  What little composure Jared had left dissolved into pure panic and he was back to choking on gulps of air.

“Jared!”  Jensen turned the man’s face towards him.  “Jared!  Breathe!”  Jensen couldn’t imagine what his secretary was going through but he knew that panicking wasn’t going to make it any better.  “You have to breathe.”  He went back to taking calculated breaths in hopes that Jared would copy him again.  It took a few lungfuls but Jared’s unsteady breathing evened out with his.  “Good.  Keep breathing like that.”  Jensen watched the younger man for a moment, the tension of the situation making a bead of sweat break out across his forehead.  In a swift movement he tugged off his suit jacket and balled it up to put behind Jared arched back.  “You’re not going to have these babies in the elevator.  Help is going to get here soon.  But your little girls need you to stay calm and keep giving them oxygen, okay?”

Jared nodded nervously.  He clamped both hands down on each side of his middle when another contraction took hold but he kept breathing.  “Fuck!”  His breathing went a little erratic but Jensen locked eyes with him and helped bring him back to normal.  “I can’t have these babies here.”

“You don’t have to.”  Jensen hadn’t realized it earlier but his hand had fallen onto Jared’s thigh.

“I can’t.”  Jared’s eyes flashed with fear as he groaned and pressed his head forcefully back into the wall, trying to exude as much tension as what was clamping down in his middle.

“You won’t.”  Jensen wasn’t sure if he was blindly lying to Jared or if it was the truth.  Either way, he wasn’t going to send Jared into a panic that might not even be necessary.

“No, you don’t understand.  I can’t.”  Jared let out a long breath as the tension lessoned.  Things were going way too fast for him and he wasn’t prepared for any of it.  “Baby A is head down but Baby B isn’t.  They’re like,” he paused to find the right visual, “a yin-yang.”  He closed his eyes and rubbed his middle while splaying his legs to get more comfortable.  “Their cords are all tangled.  I can’t give birth naturally without risking Baby B losing oxygen and getting tangled up.  I was scheduled for a c-section next week.”

“Ohh…”  Jensen’s stomach dropped out.  He had been holding it together but just barely, now the small ledge he had a grip on had crumbled in his fingers.  He felt selfish even feeling like he had a right to fall apart when Jared was the one in real danger.  Certain that Jared would rather be trapped with someone other than him, he swallowed his fear and put on a brave face for the laboring man.  He hated seeing Jared so scared and knowing that he couldn’t do anything to alleviate that fear.  “It’s going to be fine.  You’ll be in the hospital long before these little girls are ready to come out.”

“It’s nice that you think that, because I am not feeling so sure they’re going to wait much longer.”  Jared squeezed his eyes together and yelped, his hand flying up and grabbing Jensen’s, squeezing it.  “Mother fucker.”  He took a deep breath and held onto it, tensing up every muscle in his face.

Prior to tonight Jensen had never heard a curse come from Jared’s mouth.  He shifted closer to the man and braced himself so that Jared could use him for support.  “Breathe Jared.”  He curled his fingers around the man’s hand and interlaced them, letting Jared get a firmer grip on him.  “Come on, you have to breathe.”

Jared growled at him again, curling his lip slightly, but in the end he let out a breath and started focusing on going back to the original breathing pattern Jensen had taught him.  He screamed out when he felt one contraction roll into another, not giving him a break from the pain.  “It’s going too fast.”

Jensen couldn’t disagree with him so he stayed silent, holding onto Jared until he slumped limply against him.  “You’re okay.”  Jared had fallen to the side a fraction, leaving the younger man leaning most of his weight into Jensen’s chest.  It struck Jensen that he had always wondered what Jared’s weight would feel like against him, hovering right over his heart, but this wasn’t how he wanted to find out.  Jared made a noise between a whimper and a yelp and buried his face in the fabric of Jensen’s dress shirt.  Looking down he couldn’t help but push Jared’s sweaty hair away from his face, his heart shattering at the pained look Jared's bangs had been hiding.  “Come on Jared, you can get through this.”

“This isn’t how any of this was supposed to happen!”  Letting out a cry, tears fell down Jared’s face.  The embarrassment he felt over falling apart in front of his boss was overshadowed by the need for human contact and the safety Jensen’s arms provided.  He shuddered as the sob wracked his body, but tensed up when another contraction crashed into him.  “Jensen!”

Hearing the man call out for him sent Jensen’s heart into overdrive.  “I’m right here.”  Jared shifted in his arms, arching like he had a chance of escaping the pain.  “You’re doing good.  Just keep breathing and you’ll get through it.  You’ll be in the hospital with your twins and your boyfriend before you know it.”

Jared gritted his teeth and groaned.  “No..boyfriend.”  Letting out a relieved breath as the contraction ebbed he fell back against Jensen who had managed to wedge himself somewhat behind Jared so that his could support the younger man’s back.

“Huh?”  Jensen blinked, the words cutting through the severity of the situation.  It was reckless to even think about what those words meant, especially given the circumstances, but Jensen’s heart hammered faster.

“I don’t have a boyfriend.”  Jared’s words were tinged with exhaustion and he closed his eyes for the moment.

“Ohh I…I just assumed…I thought that you must have one since…I…” Jensen was rarely speechless, but he couldn’t seem to find the right words to make it seem like he hadn’t played over Jared’s situation hundreds of times in his head.

“Sperm donor.” Jared’s words were short and crisp. 

“Oh…”  It felt strange that in the space of a half hour Jensen had come to learn so much about his secretary.  That thought had never occurred to Jensen.  When he was young, in college, and didn’t think much about the consequences he had donated sperm.  He needed money and, while he didn’t get too much, even the smallest amount was enough for a poor college sophomore.  Though it made total sense that they would, he had never thought of men needing sperm from a sperm bank.  He had always assumed some woman who had desperately been trying for a baby would go there or a woman with an infertile husband.  It never clicked that some men would do the same thing.  The fact that he hadn’t thought of the possibility made him feel like an idiot.  The fact that Jared would have turned to a sperm bank blew his mind; Jared, who could probably get any man he wanted.  “Ohh...”

Jared opened his eyes enough to see the wheels turning in Jensen’s head.  “I wanted a baby.  I’d been badly burned by a relationship and…”  Jared trailed off, hesitating finishing his thought.  His head was foggy from the pain and his heart exhausted from keeping up walls.  “I don’t trust people.  But I trust myself and I wanted a baby.  I knew I would never abandon my child, but someone else might.  I figured this way I wouldn’t have to worry about it.  I didn’t plan on having two…but…yeah…”  Jared tensed up and pushed himself forward, curling around his stomach as the cramping worsened.

Blinking at the revelation Jensen’s mouth moved before his brain did.  “You can trust me.”  As soon as the words left his mouth he took a quick intake of air and cupped one palm over his lips.  He hadn’t meant to push so hard, this wasn’t the time or place, but he couldn’t help himself.  Jared was laying broken beside him and the pieces of information that he had about the man started to fall into place.  The man had been so guarded at work but that fact seemed to contradict his personable nature.  It was easy to have the type of relationships Jared had with his clients when you were afraid of being betrayed.  Jared never had to worry about seeing these people in his personal life so he could safely ooze charm and personality.  Maybe it is why he kept Jensen so shielded from his personal life as well.

Jared had heard Jensen’s words, but just barely.  “I know.  It’s why you scare me.”  Whatever else he was going to say fell to the wayside when he let out a scream and arched his back, his hips shifting in an attempt to alleviate the pain.  “Oh god…”  The younger man screamed out again, pain roiling in his gut and radiating down.

“Shh.”  Jensen leaned closer and pulled Jared tightly against him.  “Focus on something other than the pain.”  He felt Jared go rigid in his arms and knew the man was holding his breath again.  “Keep breathing Jared.  Think about holding those little girls in your arms.”

“Can’t.”  Jared locked his jaw, his voice coming through clenched teeth.  “Gotta push.”

Shooting upright, Jensen’s gut twisted.  “No Jared.  Just hold on a little more.”  He looked down at Jared and realized that the man’s body was tense, probably bearing down on its own.  “Just hang on a little bit longer.”

“Can’t! Oh god Jensen! I can’t.”  Jared let out a yell and pushed himself backwards against the wall.  He turned towards Jensen with fear in his eyes.  “I don’t want to have this baby right here but she’s coming anyway.”  He broke the eye contact with his boss and scrunched up his face. “Fuck!”  He leaned forward between his spread legs and groaned.  “I have to push…NOW!”

“Alright. Okay.”  His chest rising and falling with almost the same speed as Jared’s, Jensen tried to make sense of the situation.  “It’s okay, we can do this.”  Jensen’s heart was hammering so loud he could barely hear the scream Jared let out.  “We can do this Jared.”  Not sure who he was trying to convince he crawled so that he was between his secretary’s legs and tugged on his pant leg.  “I gotta take these off.”

Jared turned his head to the side, the need to stop the pain that was attacking him overpowering any hesitation he had about Jensen seeing him naked.  He lifted his hips enough so that Jensen could remove the damp material.

Jensen fell back onto his heels and sucked in a breath in surprise. “Shit, Jared!  You have to push.”  The words were stupid, something Jared had been saying for several minutes now, but Jensen hadn’t known how serious he was until he saw a messy wet dome of hair trying to make its way out of Jared’s body.  The fact that Jared has been as composed as he was up until now made Jensen wrongly think he wasn’t as close to delivery as he actually was.

“I know!”  Jared tossed his head backwards and planted both of his hands behind his arched back for support.  He grunted as he bore down, feeling his child move down and out.

“Good!”  The truth was, Jensen had no idea if this was good or not, but the baby had moved and Jared wasn’t bleeding and he figured these two facts were what he was going to go on. 

“Nnngh!”  The muscles in Jared neck tensed and he pitched forward, this time moving his hands so that they caught behind his legs and he pushed hard.  “Burns!”

Though he wishes he could do something to help, say something to relieve him, Jensen can’t.  He doesn’t know what else to do other than smile up at him reassuringly.  Jared’s face is pure fear and he’s gone back to holding his breath, his face turning red as he pushes again.  “Keep breathing Jared.  You’re doing good, her head is almost out.”

Jared let out a lungful of air and panted a few times before gathering his strength to give it another go.  “Ungggh!”  He screamed and bore down, pushing hard and long, pushing past the unsettling feeling of his daughter’s head stretching him that wide.

“Keep going Jared.  Come on.”  Jensen doesn’t know exactly what he is doing but he cups the baby’s head and helps the painfully stretched skin slide over it.  She has a ton of hair and her face is as scrunched up as Jared’s is as he bears down and urges her into the world.

“Jensen…she…I…ugh!”  The contraction doesn’t seem to end and Jared feels like he is in a vice.  He lets out a guttural yell, his whole body shaking from the effort he is exuding, and pushes down hard.

When the baby’s head pops free Jensen lets out a laugh.  “Shh Jared, stop a minute.”  He rips off his dress shirt, buttons clanking to the ground and sending an echo through the metal room.  “Her head’s out.”  He used his shirt to wipe her face and remove anything from her tiny button nose.

“She’s okay?”  Jared struggles to keep himself up against the wall.

“I think so.  Here, feel.”  Grabbing Jared’s hand from its place on his knee he helps guide it so that it can ghost over the baby’s head.

Jared’s eyes wash over with a momentary flash of a smile.  “Baby.”  His fingers trace over his daughter’s lips and nose and he lets out a relieved sigh.  “Hi baby.”  The smile twists into a hard line as he bites down on his lip and his body tenses.  “I gotta push Jensen.”

“Go for it.”  Jensen sits back and lets Jared work.  He urges him on and gives him positive encouragement and Jared lets out one last growl before he finds himself catching the squalling infant in his arms.  She is small and covered in birth fluids and gunk but she is animated and lively from the moment Jared pushes her free.  He holds onto her, his heart slowing just like time seemed to slow around him.  Having never held a newborn quite this small, Jensen is in complete awe of her.  Her eyes are squeezed shut and her mouth is wide open in the midst of a wavering newborn wail. Though others might disagree, Jensen thinks it is the best sound he’s heard all day.  “She’s perfect.”

His chest rising and falling in an attempt to catch his breath, Jared is blinking up in awe at Jensen and his daughter.  He’s exhausted and his middle is still tense but the adrenaline of the situation is enough to let him ignore it for the time being.  He reaches his hands out, not trusting his words, and makes a grabbing motion towards the baby.

Jensen knows he needs to relinquish the infant, but he doesn’t want to.  She is amazing and he can’t believe he just helped Jared deliver her.  He has absolutely no right to this child but he feels instantly connected to her.   Carefully, he wraps her in his dress shirt and hands her over to her father. 

Her umbilical cord is short and Jared has to lean closer to get a good grip on her, but he does it almost effortlessly.  He wraps his arms around his daughter and cradles her close, kissing her wet head while cooing at her.  “Hi baby girl.”  The exhaustion is clear on his face but so is the amazement.

Giving himself a moment to watch Jared meet his daughter, Jensen smiles.  One baby down, one to go.  Moving quickly he removes the designer shoes he bought last week, pulling the laces from each of them.  Not sure if what he is doing matters, Jensen steadily ties off the umbilical cord with one lace, tying it tightly a few inches from the baby’s belly.

Jared tore his eyes away from his daughter long enough to figure out what Jensen was doing.  “Where did you learn that?”

This time it was Jensen’s turn to blush.  “I had nightmares about you going into a labor at work…so I…” he scratched the back of his neck nervously, “…I did some research on how to deliver a baby.  It wasn’t much, but I got the basic idea.”  He finished his work, rewrapped the infant up and let Jared snuggle her more tightly.

“Oh.”  Jared smiled, tired eyes curling up in the corners.  “Well…I’m glad you did.”  He shifted uncomfortably, feeling the cramping building up again.  His attention was drawn to the whimpering infant in his arms, her cries coming in an inconsistent wavering.

“Me too.  You did all the real work though.”  Jensen's voice trails off, so low that he doesn’t know if Jared can hear him.  “You’re amazing.”  He blushes but manages to find his composure.   He doesn’t know what to do next.  He has nothing to cut the newborn's cord with and it is only a matter of time before Jared starts contracting again.  He peers down at the baby as Jared plays with her tiny lips with his pinky finger.  “She’s cute.”

“Mmm hmm.”  Sighing, the younger man dropped a kiss to her head.  “She looks like me.”

Thinking that she just looked like a baby, Jensen isn’t going to disagree.  He thinks a lot of babies look the same, but this one is exceptionally cute.  The baby yawns and then tries to suckle on Jared’s finger, letting out a cry after several seconds.  “I think she is hungry.”

“Here, take her.”  Jared gently transferred the baby to Jensen’s arms, wary of the umbilical cord.  He doesn’t miss the fact that Jensen’s expression practically melts when he gets his hands on the newborn.  Self-consciousness going out the window 8 contractions ago, Jared pulled the top of his shirt open, undoing the buttons enough to expose his swollen chest.  “I have no idea what I am doing but I figure it can’t hurt to try.”   Jensen caught onto his train of thinking and handed the baby back to him, watching as Jared cradled her head close to his chest.  “Come on Ari.”

“Ari?”  Jensen cranes his neck to see the infant.  Her mouth is blindly searching for something, her tongue sweeping out across Jared’s nipple.

Jared stiffens and gasps when the newborn latches on.   After wincing once he eases himself into the sensation of his daughter nursing and keeps her protectively against his chest.  “Arianna.  She was always referred to as Baby A so I thought an A name was suiting.”  He ran the hand not cradling his daughter over his stomach.  “This one is Brooke because she’s…”

“Baby B.”  Jensen smiled.

“Yeah.”  Jared smiled and nuzzled Arianna’s hair.  “Listen, Jensen…I need to…”  His face froze, tensed, and his words were forgotten.  He groaned, splaying his legs instinctively.  “Take her.”

It took a minute for Jensen’s brain to get back in the game.  The moment had been so peaceful that he forgot the really dangerous part came next.  Arianna was screaming again, annoyed to be given a teaser of a meal.  He scooped the baby into his arms and laid her safely on the floor, nestled in the fabric of his dress shirt.  “Jared?”

Jared hissed out a curse and pushed back against the wall, scooting upward to give himself more leverage.  “Breastfeeding…It can cause contractions.”  He groaned and pulled back on his thighs.  “Shit Jensen.”

“Shh, it’s okay.  You did it once, you can do it again.”  Jensen pushed Jared’s thighs apart, not able to see much of anything.

“She can’t…she’s the wrong way.”  Jared growled as a contraction attacked him.

“Yes she can.  It’s not ideal, but people give birth to breech babies every day.”  Jensen stroked the younger man's thigh and his heart broke when Jared’s cry mingled with Arianna’s. 

“Ugh!”  Pitching forward Jared caught Jensen’s shoulders and held onto them.  “Can’t.”  He locked eyes with Jensen and revealed how utterly defeated he was.

“You’re going to have to.”  Jensen cupped Jared’s check, a movement he hadn’t even thought about before he realized Jared didn’t flinch out of it.  “It’s going to be okay.”

“You don’t know…” His words trailed off into a groan and he fell back against the wall, hands gripping at his tensing middle.

“No, I don’t.  But…”  Jensen’s abandoned his thoughts when he heard a banging outside the elevator shaft.  He tried yelling but it seemed to be little use.  The banging was coming from above them, making Jensen realize they must be between floors.  “See, help is here.  Brooke is going to be fine.”

Jared let out a scream, his voice harsh from delivering Arianna.  His rolled his hips, the pressure making it almost unbearable.  “Hurts…”  The younger man’s body strained with the efforts he was taking not to push.  Choking on a breath he tensed his muscles, holding in the lungful of air.

“I know it hurts.  But help is almost here.  You did so good with Arianna, but I need you to keep going, okay?”  Jensen got on his knees between Jared’s legs and pushed them back.  He could see the peek-a-boo of what looked like a foot.  “I need you to keep breathing, okay Jared.”  He waited for the younger man to listen, Jensen inadvertently finding himself breathing in tandem with him.  “Now breathe and push.”  When Jared did nothing he looked up and locked eyes with him.  “Come on Jared.  Just like before, breathe and push.”

“I don’t want to.”  Jared squeezed his eyes shut and twisted his head from side to side.  His actions were so drastically different from his labor with Arianna that Jensen didn’t know what to do next.  He groaned and whimpered as another contraction took hold, his muscles pushing downward and urging the feet further out.  He lurched forward, clamping onto Jensen’s hand.

Jensen curled his fingers around his secretary’s hand.  “I know you don’t but Brooke needs you to.  Okay?  Push just like you did with Arianna and you will be holding her in your arms.”

Opening his eyes, they were wild with fear.  “I’m afraid.”  Jared’s words were broken and shaky.

“Me too.”   Jensen looked up, heard a scrape of metal and saw that someone was trying to pry the elevator doors open.  “But I need you to trust me.”  With earnest eyes he held Jared’s gaze, hoping to turn the fear into determination.

Jared took a deep breath, said nothing, and pushed.  He tossed his head back, spread his legs wider, and bore down as hard as he could. 

“Good!”  Jensen’s chest felt like it was going to explode; his heart beating faster than any human heart was meant to go.  He watched Jared work Brooke’s legs out, unwrapping the umbilical cord from her left leg and pushing it to the side of her body.  “Keep going.”

Jared lost himself in a concentrated effort to get his daughter out.  He pushed his fear aside and bore down harder and harder with each contraction.  “Jensen!!!”  The younger man let out a loud gasp as he pushed and the baby lurched forward, her torso coming into the world in a slippery rush.  A shaky yelp of pain left Jared's mouth and he writhed in a panicked attempt to stop the pain and get his child out.

“It’s okay Jared.  She’s coming.”  He supported the baby’s body gently, letting Jared birth her at his own pace.  After a few more pushes he got her shoulders out and it became apparent that the cord was wrapped around her neck – twice.  Trying to worm his finger between the cord and her neck, Jensen had no way of un-looping it.  “Jared, her head is almost here, but the cord is around her neck.  I need you to push now and push hard.”  Fear bubbled up from where he had hidden it for the last hour.

“What?”  Jared’s question was hazy with confusion and concern.

“Push Jared!  Now!”  Jensen looked up, his eyes pleading with sincerity.  People were trying to get into the elevator, they must have heard the screaming, must have seen what mess Arianna’s birth had created.  They didn’t matter.  They wouldn’t be in the elevator in time to help Brooke or Jared.

Making a noise reminiscent of a wild animal, Jared pushed, willing his child out into Jensen’s arms.  Everything ached and burned but he bore down through the pain, needing to get his little girl out.  He’s never done anything so difficult and he let out a gasp as the baby slid forward.  Pulling back on his legs and curling into the push, he almost collapsed with the suddenness of feeling his child leave him.

“She’s out.”  Jensen’s fingers were clumsy with nerves but he steadied them enough to unwrap Brooke’s neck.  “Shit.”  The infant was bluish and unresponsive, her tiny form limp in his hands.  His brain tried to do a rewind about what his research told him to do when a baby was born unresponsive.  “Shit!”

Jared pushed himself up far enough to look at Jensen.  “Jensen?”  He saw Brooke's limp body in the man's hands and his heart stopped beating.  “Jensen!”  The tears rapidly filling his eyes spilled down his cheeks in heavy streams.

Jensen took a second to look at Jared.  The younger man was sprawled out and bleeding, frozen in place by the thought of losing his daughter.  He turned Brooke on her side for a moment before using his own mouth to suction out her mouth and nose.  Spitting to clear his mouth, Jensen laid her on the floor, gently tilting her head back before he started to fill her lungs with small puffs of air.  His mind was trying to recall all the information he had on newborn CPR but all he could seem to remember was that their lungs were like balloons.  He heard Jared screaming in the background, heard Arianna too, but he didn’t stop.  Pulling back he used two fingers to pump her chest, succeeding in two compressions and ready to do another when the infant mewed and her chest rose on its own.  “Oh thank god!”  Jensen picked up the baby and held her so that her airways were wide open while he cradled her to his chest as he collapsed against the wall beside Jared.  “Thank god.”  The adrenaline rush of almost losing her left him jittery and in a strange mix of exhaustion and exhilaration.  Brooke screamed out a wail and Jensen laughed; Brooke’s cry was more beautiful than Arianna’s.  Jared was calling him but he was out in his own plain of existence, too overwhelmed to make any sense of the words.  Turning his head towards the younger man he laughed, it was a crazy sound but it was also full of relief.  “She’s okay.”

Color had finally returned to Jared’s face.  He panted in an attempt to get his breath back, mouth falling open with exhaustion.  “She’s okay?”

“She’s amazing.”  Jensen pulled the baby closer to his chest, her body covering his white t-shirt with blood and gunk.  She squirmed against him, her skin turning a nice pink color.  Looking down at her he couldn't mistake that they were indeed identical.  He swore he could feel her heart beat against his chest and, even though he knew she belonged to Jared, he needed to hold onto her for a few more minutes, at least until the residual fears of losing her faded away.

Jared wanted to get his hands on Brooke but he knew the newborn was safe in Jensen's arms.  He pulled Arianna onto his chest, her cord tangled with Brooke's but still long enough to allow him to cradle her against him.  “You were right.  I could trust you.”  Arianna wailed and Jared sighed, his eyes closing, his body too exhausted for any more words.

Jensen was sure they had both lost time because suddenly EMTs were hovering over them, trying to take the babies.  Jensen held onto Brooke more fiercely and pushed himself up against the wall.

“Sir, you need to let us take them and check them out.  Their father is still bleeding and he needs to pass the placenta.  We need to get you all to the hospital.”  The EMT, who looked far too young for Jensen to trust with Jared’s daughter, reached out again for Brooke.  He heard Jared yelp and saw him with an EMT between his legs, having difficultly expelling the placenta.

Ignoring the man still trying to pry Brooke from his arms, Jensen sought out Arianna, who was wrapped in a blanket in a female EMT’s arms, her cord obviously cut.  He slid his way towards Jared, a sigh of relief leaving his throat when Jared locked eyes with him, gave one last effort and finally delivered the placenta his two daughters had shared.

The EMT was tapping Jensen on the shoulder again.  “Sir.”  He waited until Jensen focused on him.  “Sir, I am sorry, but you have to give me the baby.  You can hold her again at the hospital.” 

“I…they’re…”  Jensen gave up on words and kissed the infant who had calmed considerably.  Reluctantly, he let the man take her, clamp and cut her cord and wrap her in a clean blanket.  Looking down Jensen realized he was a bloody mess and, surveying the area, he noticed everything else was as well.

“Well at least I didn’t give birth in the office.” 

Jensen’s attention turned towards the man who just spoke.  Jared was a limp pile of bones, but for the first time in hours his eyes weren’t filled with fear or panic.  Jensen shook his head at him, “Oh yes, an elevator was a far better choice.” 

Looking up at the ceiling, Jared took a calming breath.  His mouth hitched on the words but he eventually got them out.  “You were the better choice.”

At first Jensen thought it was exhaustion playing tricks on him but he was sure he had heard Jared correctly.  It is absurd timing, and he is crazy for even thinking Jared will grace his questions with a response, but he asks anyway.  “Would you like to go to dinner with me?  And I mean like a date, not a work thing.”

Jared snorted, the sudden tensing of muscles making him wince.  “You just delivered my kids and you’re asking…”  He paused and thumped his head back against the wall, looking at Jensen with an exhausted sideways glance.  “I might need a few days.”

“I can wait.”

“I’ve got newborn twins.”  Jared’s words held a hint of hesitation.

“I can come to you.  I’ll even cook.”

Jared gave a weak smile, his reply on the tip of his tongue when an EMT crouched beside him.  “Jared, we are going to move you to the ambulance now and get you to the hospital.”  The woman who had been holding Arianna turned towards Jensen and made a gesture with her thumb.  “Is he the father?”

Shaking his head, Jared answered the woman but looked Jensen directly in the eye.  “No, but he’s coming with me.”

Jensen perked up and got to his feet, stumbling slightly.  “Wait, is that a yes?”  He watched the EMT’s help Jared out of the elevator and followed close beside them.

Jared smirked, and despite his exhaustion the expression made it to his eyes.  “Yes.  That is a yes.”  



End file.
